L. D. Lewis (she/her) is a Locus Award-winning and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated writer of speculative fiction, co-creator of the World Fantasy and Hugo Award-winning FIYAH Literary Magazine, and (formerly) researcher for the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. She runs the Ignyte Awards, and pays the bills as a literary nonprofit administrator. Her published short fiction and poetry includes appearances in many online publications, Neon Hemlock anthologies and Jordan Peele's Out There Screaming. The first book in her The Dead Withheld novella duology is out from Neon Hemlock, and her debut novel Year of the Mer is forthcoming from Saga Press in 2026. She lives in Georgia on perpetual deadline with her partner, two cats, and an impressive LEGO build collection. Learn more at ldlewiswrites.com.